


The Code of the Guardian

by Verecunda



Category: Final Fantasy X
Genre: Gen, Missing Scene, unlikely friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-12
Updated: 2019-02-12
Packaged: 2019-10-27 02:13:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17757866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Verecunda/pseuds/Verecunda
Summary: The oldest guardian and the youngest have reason to question each other's motives.





	The Code of the Guardian

**Author's Note:**

  * For [faceofstone](https://archiveofourown.org/users/faceofstone/gifts).



Rikku was unusually quiet during the drive from Lake Macalania to the temple. At first, Auron was inclined to count this as a blessing, but the further the Al Bhed snow sled passed through the gorge, the more uncomfortable he found himself. It was out of character, to say the least. Clearly, the quarrel with Wakka was still preying on her mind.

It was inevitable that the truth should come out sooner or later, and that there should have been a scene, particularly with Wakka. A thousand years of Yevon’s indoctrination would not be undone just like that, but at least this might sow a few more seeds of doubt before they reached Zanarkand. He was sorry to see the girl upset, however. Asking her to repair the sleds had diverted her attention for a few minutes, long enough to clear the air, but now that she was driving, she had time to dwell on it again.

“You okay back there?” she said over her shoulder.

She was trying hard to sound cheerful, but her voice was pitched just _too_ perkily to be convincing. Rather than embarrass her by pointing this out, however, he merely said, “You should keep your eyes on the road.”

Another few minutes slipped by silence, then with a slight huff, Rikku said, “You know, a conversation only works if _both_ people take turns saying things.”

“I thought you weren’t talking to me.”

“Yeah, well, it’s not like I’ve got anyone else to talk to right now. Kimahri went off on his own, and Tidus is with Lulu.” Under her breath - but not quite far enough under it that he couldn’t hear - she muttered, “Just my luck to get stuck with the legendary grouch.”

Despite himself, he smiled, the expression safely hidden within his collar. After the ugly shock of returning to Spira to discover that he was now touted as the “legendary guardian” to High Summoner Braska, held up as an example to many more young idealists just so they could follow more summoners to their deaths, it was something of a relief to be challenged, even argued with. Rikku didn’t seem to attach much reverence to him - certainly no more than Tidus did - and he took some consolation in that.

“You did well,” he said.

“Huh?” Surprise made her head jerk as she glanced over her shoulder again.

“I said you did well, standing your ground against your brother and Wakka. Keep your eyes on the road.”

“Oh. Sure.” She turned back, made sure they were still following a safe course clear of the gorge, then said, “Thanks. It just came as a shock, you know? I’d almost forgotten, travelling with Yunie and everyone, what it’s like with Yevonites sometimes. Then to hear Wakka saying all those things…”

“He’ll come round,” said Auron. “He just needs time to get used to the idea.”

“I guess,” she said, still sounding a little sad. “But it still stung, you know?”

“I know.”

Neither of them spoke again until they reached the temple gate, where they found Kimahri’s sled already outside, upturned and looking for all the world as if it had just been abandoned where it had stopped. This made Rikku giggle, before she brought their own sled round in a smooth, expert curve, and killed the engine. Despite her skilful handling, however, the ancient machina juddered to a rather apoplectic stop, coughed alarmingly, then was still. Hearing this, Rikku hopped straight off, opened a compartment, and began to fiddle with wires and switches and various other arcane components, but eventually resurfaced with a rather rueful smile.

“It’s busted. Figures. These things always turn out to be junk. We’ll be walking back to the lake.”

“No matter,” said Auron. “We got here in good time, and that’s what matters.”

“You’re worried about Yunie too, huh?” she said, rather surprising him with her perspicacity.

“I am.” There was no point in denying it. They had all been under a cloud since Guadosalam. Whatever game Seymour was playing, Yuna was right in the middle of it, and she was in danger. They all sensed it, even if they couldn’t yet quite put their finger on the nature of the threat. And Yuna, like Braska, was too high-minded to put her friends in danger with her. It made for a treacherous, unpredictable situation, an unexpected obstacle thrown in their already arduous way, and he didn’t like it.

Rikku sighed. “You know, when Seymour first proposed to her back in Guadosalam, I was excited to think she might quit her pilgrimage, after all. But now… even if she hadn’t said she was gonna keep going, I wouldn’t be happy about it now. Something about the whole thing just gives me the creeps.”

“Let’s not waste time, then,” he said, turning towards the gate.

“What about Tidus and Lulu?”

“They can catch us up.”

“Okay, but don’t walk so fast!” she called, and ran after him as he led the way into the vast temple grotto.

As soon as they were inside, the air fell still, and the harsh voice of the wind outside was instantly hushed. Bathed in the cool blue light that filtered through the sheer ice walls of the cavern, they paused, and even Auron couldn’t deny to himself that it was a magnificent sight. Light swept in shafts through fissures in the ice: it glanced off icicles and fractured into countless subtle shades of blue and green and mauve, and it sparkled on the snowy crust that covered the causeway over the lake. And there in the middle of it all was the temple itself, the whole structure corkscrewing down from the cavern roof to the surface of the lake far below, held fast in place by the sheer strength of the ice, securely suspended in that clear, cold air. It was power and beauty formed by the fayth, it had nothing to do with Yevon, and he found himself as moved by it as he had been the first time he saw it. Beside him, Rikku gasped aloud and bounced up and down on the spot with open, childlike wonder.

Just inside the entrance to the grotto, they nearly stumbled over a lone Al Bhed sitting on the stairs, presumably to get out of the teeth of the wind. She and Rikku exchanged a few words in their own language, the stranger looking slightly embarrassed, then they went on. She would come no nearer the temple, Auron knew. The Al Bhed were forbidden to enter the temples of Spira. The same thought seemed to occur to Rikku now, because as she looked at the temple, a little frown came into her face and she bit her lip. Now seemed as good a time as any, Auron thought, to broach a subject he hadn’t wanted to tackle in front of the others:

“Tell me, why did you want to become Yuna’s guardian?”

He could tell the question made her uneasy, and he suspected he already knew the answer.

“Why shouldn't I?” she asked, raising her chin.

“No reason. But it you must admit, it’s unusual. Did you think you might be able to convince her to give it up?”

The expression on her face was all the reply he needed. She seemed torn between being abashed and defiant. “I just thought… maybe, if I got a chance to talk to her - properly - she might change her mind.”

This simple admission sent an unexpected sting through him. “Your cousin has a strong will,” he said. “I don’t think there’s much that will shake her resolve.”

He hoped that was true. So much depended on her getting to Zanarkand and realising the truth.

Rikku gave a huge sigh. “Yeah, I can see that. But maybe… maybe there’s another way, you know? Like, maybe as we go along, we can think of a way to do it without having to sacrifice anyone. Maybe there’s a way to do it without her having to die!”

He could hear the desperation lying just beneath the optimism in her voice, and it went to his heart in the cruellest way. How he had clutched to such hopes himself. The closer they came to Zanarkand, the more his faith had crumbled away, step by heavy step, until all he could think about was how Braska might be saved. It was strange and unsettling to see so much of his former self mirrored back at him now in this young girl. He had been young enough when he followed Braska, but she was younger still, and he hoped she would be spared the grief that had destroyed him in the end.

“It’s more than that, though,” she went on. “Yunie’s family. All my life, my pop told me I had a cousin, but I never knew her. I always wanted to meet her - I mean, I only had a brother! And now I have a chance to get to know her, I just wanna be able to spend this time with her, even if… even if she defeats Sin.”

She looked back at him fiercely, as determined as either Yuna or Tidus. Her will was as strong as theirs. He hoped it would be enough. Once again, he found himself wondering how it had come to this, that he must guide these children along their long road into the very shadow of death. And once again, he had to remind himself that this time, it would be different. This time, there would be an end to it all.

He said nothing of this, however. All he said was, “Very well.”

“What about you?” she asked.

He looked at her, caught off-guard. “Excuse me?”

“Well, everyone knows you were guardian to my Uncle Braska, and now here you are, guarding Yunie. Why?”

“I promised her father.”

“Yeah, but… wasn’t once enough?”

“Yes,” he said grimly. “Once was more than enough.”

She frowned. She didn’t understand, not yet. But hopefully, before long, she would — they all would.

He could feel the memories raging within him: the awareness of his own failure, of Braska’s vain sacrifice, and above all, of Jecht, trapped at the very centre of the spiral of death. The knowledge that there was so much still to do before he could rest at last.

“Come,” he said curtly, and strode along the causeway towards the temple, the frost crunching beneath his boots, following the same path he had trodden before - but, he prayed, towards a very different end.

But he might have guessed Rikku would never let him off the hook that easily. Trotting to catch up with him, she continued to press him: “And why did you let me come along, anyway? I mean, you saw I was Al Bhed right away, but you didn’t say anything.”

“It was Yuna’s wish.”

“Yeah, but you still could’ve said no. They all look up to you.”

Drily, he replied, “Perhaps I thought a dose of Al Bhed heathenism might be good for them all.”

At this, she narrowed her eyes and studied him long and hard, as if he were one of her salvaged gadgets and she was trying to work out which configuration of wires and gears made him run. “You know, you really don’t talk like you’re a big Yevonite hero.”

_Hero._ What a terrible word. He couldn’t suppress a bitter smile. “There was a time when neither your uncle or I were much in favour with the temple, even if Yevon has decided to forget that.”

“Uh- _huh_. But you both still went to defeat Sin.”

“Yes. So I see no reason why you shouldn’t do the same.”

She continued to scrutinise him, until, slowly, a smile broke out on her face. “Hey. You’re not so bad, you know.”

He chuckled. “Does that mean we have a truce?”

“Sure.” She grinned. “At least, till you say something mean again.”

Together, they walked along the causeway until they reached the entrance to the temple. There, the priest at the door caught sight of Rikku, started visibly, and moved at once to bar her way.

“Uh-oh,” she said in a low voice. “Looks like we got a welcoming committee.”

Auron nodded. “This is likely to happen more often, especially as we get closer to Bevelle. Are you still certain?”

She nodded firmly, and that was that. “ _Two_ hundred per cent.”

“Well, then,” he said, with a conspiratorial glance, “we shouldn't keep him waiting.”

“You got it!”

**Author's Note:**

> I liked what you said in your request about how Rikku mirrors Auron when he was younger. They have some good interaction in the game, and I've always been quite touched by how he supports her in Macalania, so here we are. I hope you enjoy it!


End file.
